Twenty Years
by cOokIng PoT
Summary: Ryoma had left Sakuno behind 10 years ago. A love that had spanned across 20 years which neither could forget. Yet when he finally returns, they both struggle with the question, "Is everything too late?" RyomaxSakuno


**Twenty Years**

It's been a while since I last wrote a PoT fic. I had this idea brewing in my mind for a while, and now that I finally found the musical inspiration to accompany it, here we go.

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**Prologue: Why.**

_Well I've been running from something_

_Twenty years in a car_

_On a road that is leading nowhere_

Ryoma stared listlessly out of the window, not noticing the scenery that changed every second. Things looked strangely unfamiliar, and it unsettled him. Finally, the taxi screeched to a halt and he got out after paying the fare, slamming the door shut in the quiet of the night and watching it rumble off in the distance.

He glanced at the piece of scrap paper he held tightly, looking around until he finally settled on the house that stood just in front of him. His throat tightened when he realised he did not really need the paper, for he had memorized the address by heart a long time ago.

The white fence was still there, the door painted an unfamiliar shade of yellow. He walked forward, and stopped.

Questions swirled in his mind, uncertainty arose and bubbled at the back of his brain. Could he… ? Some unknown force propelled him forward, and he found himself knocking on the door.

He wanted to run away immediately when he heard footsteps but something forced him to stay, something that glued his feet to floor. And when the door finally swung open, he mustered all that he had in him to say the words he had meant to say a long time ago.

"Sakuno."

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The doorbell had rung at an unearthly hour and Sakuno quickly dried her hands on the dishtowel she had been using to dry the dishes. Ryu had been so restless during dinner, demanding in between forced mouthfuls of peas to see "Fuji Oji-san!". It had taken a while to calm the little boy and remind him that Fuji was currently in Paris on an assignment but would be back the day after tomorrow. The boy of 10 had merely pouted, and all her frustrations at dinner melted away as she scooped him up into her arms, giving him a kiss.

She glanced at the clock which stood next to a photograph of a man whose existence she sought to blot out but could not, for the mere fact that he had changed her life forever. Ryu had asked a little too often who he was, and she was always at a loss what to say. Perhaps, she would be able to explain it to him when he was older. Perhaps.

She opened the door with a smile and

Froze.

"Sakuno." Her hands flew up to her lips, her breath hitched in her throat, her heart raced, her eyes started to water and she could feel herself wanting to burst into tears.

The clock chimed eleven times, the silence still unbroken and untouched.

"Ryoma." She finally managed to stutter out and took in a deep breath of air. How many times had she envisioned this to happen? In her sleep, in her daily routine, in her bath, in her every being. She had dreamt of this all the time.

Just then, a sleepy looking boy wandered over to her and tugged her skirt. "Oka-san, I'm can't sleep." He rubbed his eyes and looked up at the man in front of the door. He frowned slightly, before closing his eyes again and waited for Sakuno to pick him up.

"Let's get you to bed." She said, her fear and trepidation melting away instantly as she carried the little one. She turned to the man standing in front of her, the one who looked absolutely shell-shocked as he stared at the dark hair tinged with a green shade, and the golden eyes of the little boy on her shoulder.

"Sakuno…" She bit her lip.

"Ryoma, why are you even here?" Was the simple question she asked before she turned and closed the door quietly. She sucked in yet another deep breath of air, her heart crumbling as she patted Ryu to sleep on her shoulder and tears streaming down her face as she carried him to sleep.

_Do you want to see the place where I'm free?_

'_Cause in my mind I need it_

_But you're no where near me. _

Why are you even here…. The question that Ryoma had asked himself over and again, the same question that Fuji, Momoshiro, Tezuka and the rest had all asked him a long time ago. No, the question that they had asked then was "Why are you not even here?"

And here, Sakuno had asked him, "Why are you even here?"

Why.

And he had no answer to it.

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Reviews are appreciated. Lyrics taken from 'Twenty Years' by Augustana.


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